Our mains powered watermate pro system was working correctly until it was switched off for a few days whilst we had some work done on the outside of our house. Now, although the data suggests that watering is taking place, we are unable to get the pump to work. The wiring has been checked and all seems fine. When trying to water, either manually or from the control panel, the valves click and you can feel the pump shudder slightly but nothing happens. Help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Hi John
The Pro pumps come with a high pressure cut off switch, if the outlet is blocked then they will shudder ( pump ) while pressure builds and then the pump will stop. Does the pump continue to shudder or does it stop?
- If it stops after a couple of seconds of trying to pump, check the high current "fault shutdown" feature on the device control panel ( via wifi ) as that would be turning off a faulty pump.
- If it keeps running but no water is coming out, it could be not priming ( pulling water ); check the inlet has no air leaks. It's possible that there's an air leak inside the pump, but it doesn't sound like from your message it's running fully, it would be more than a slight shudder.
Hi Chris
The pump fault shutdown has already been disabled. I've just tried to do a manual water and now the pump is completely unresponsive. On Saturday I could feel a slight shudder and the pump felt warm, but now there is nothing and the pump is cold. I can still hear a click from the valves but nothing else.
Regards
John
Hi JohnMcT
Do you have any way of checking power is still getting to the Pump now? there is a fuse in the control unit, that might have blown? ( though if blown, I dont know if the valves would still operate / click ) do you think anything has got past the filter and jammed the pump?
Regards Paul
If the control unit fuse has blown, the whole unit will be dead. Recent control units have a self-resetting fuse which does not "blow". A warm but not spinning pump sounds like it's failed - the Pro pumps should be kept dry. If the diaphragm or top seal in the head has gone, then water gets into the pump body and can cause it to seize up. Can you disassemble the top of the pump and see if the motor spins separately without the pump head?
As requested I disassembled the top of the pump to examine the motor. This did not move, I therefore also open the diaphragm section. I found that the bearing at the bottom of the motor and attached to the pump chamber has seized. The motor itself, when detached from the bearing turns freely. The motor chamber was dry on the inside. I have attached a photo of the bearing that show some rust on it. In the greenhouse, the pump is in a position where it is not hit by external water, as the nearest plants are watered by drippers only, so it will have not got wet.
Hi JohnMcT
Have been doing a bit digging and found the manual that came with my pro pump and it says,
The pump can be mounted in any position. If mounted vertically the pump head should be in the down position to avoid leakage into the motor casing in the event of a malfunction ( not sure if the text after the word casing was wrote correct ) maybe it should say to prevent malfunction.
Just wondered which way your pump was installed as you say the bearing at the bottom of the motor and attached to the pump chamber had seized and the motor chamber was dry.
I’ve only had the diaphragm end apart so not familiar with the motor part, but would it be possible to test if “Just” the motor part still spins when manually controlled by the Watermate, if yes would you be able to install a new bearing?
( I see your photo didn’t upload, was that the file size or a website problem )
Regards Paul
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Will the pump run if you disconnect the outlet pipe from the pump?
Regards Paul
No, nothing happens if I disconnect the outlet pipe.
Regards
John
The Pro pumps come with a high pressure cut off switch, if the outlet is blocked then they will shudder ( pump ) while pressure builds and then the pump will stop. Does the pump continue to shudder or does it stop?
- If it stops after a couple of seconds of trying to pump, check the high current "fault shutdown" feature on the device control panel ( via wifi ) as that would be turning off a faulty pump.
- If it keeps running but no water is coming out, it could be not priming ( pulling water ); check the inlet has no air leaks. It's possible that there's an air leak inside the pump, but it doesn't sound like from your message it's running fully, it would be more than a slight shudder.
The pump fault shutdown has already been disabled. I've just tried to do a manual water and now the pump is completely unresponsive. On Saturday I could feel a slight shudder and the pump felt warm, but now there is nothing and the pump is cold. I can still hear a click from the valves but nothing else.
Regards
John
Do you have any way of checking power is still getting to the Pump now? there is a fuse in the control unit, that might have blown? ( though if blown, I dont know if the valves would still operate / click ) do you think anything has got past the filter and jammed the pump?
Regards Paul
I'm away with work at the moment so will look at the pump at the weekend when I'm back.
Regards
John
As requested I disassembled the top of the pump to examine the motor. This did not move, I therefore also open the diaphragm section. I found that the bearing at the bottom of the motor and attached to the pump chamber has seized. The motor itself, when detached from the bearing turns freely. The motor chamber was dry on the inside. I have attached a photo of the bearing that show some rust on it. In the greenhouse, the pump is in a position where it is not hit by external water, as the nearest plants are watered by drippers only, so it will have not got wet.
Regards
John
Have been doing a bit digging and found the manual that came with my pro pump and it says,
The pump can be mounted in any position. If mounted vertically the pump head should be in the down position to avoid leakage into the motor casing in the event of a malfunction ( not sure if the text after the word casing was wrote correct ) maybe it should say to prevent malfunction.
Just wondered which way your pump was installed as you say the bearing at the bottom of the motor and attached to the pump chamber had seized and the motor chamber was dry.
I’ve only had the diaphragm end apart so not familiar with the motor part, but would it be possible to test if “Just” the motor part still spins when manually controlled by the Watermate, if yes would you be able to install a new bearing?
( I see your photo didn’t upload, was that the file size or a website problem )
Regards Paul